MiFIR – Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation

The Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR, Regulation (EU) No 600/2014) is the directly applicable companion regulation to the MiFID II directive, together forming the core regulatory package for EU financial markets. While MiFID II as a directive requires national transposition, MiFIR applies directly in all Member States, establishing uniform rules for trade transparency, transaction reporting and access to trading venues.

MiFIR establishes detailed pre- and post-trade transparency obligations for equity instruments (shares, depositary receipts, ETFs) and non-equity instruments (bonds, structured products, derivatives). The regulation also contains trading obligations for shares and derivatives, ensuring that trading takes place on regulated platforms.

The MiFIR Review 2024 (Regulation 2024/791) introduced major innovations: the creation of an EU-wide consolidated tape for shares and ETFs, the ban on payment for order flow for retail clients, and simplified transparency rules for bonds and derivatives.

MiFIR was developed in parallel with MiFID II as part of the comprehensive financial markets regulatory package. The European Commission presented both proposals on 20 October 2011. MiFIR was designed as a regulation to ensure direct and uniform application of transparency and reporting requirements across all EU Member States. Adopted on 15 May 2014 and published in the EU Official Journal on 12 June 2014, its application was postponed together with MiFID II to 3 January 2018.

On 8 March 2024, amending Regulation 2024/791 was published in the Official Journal, entering into force on 28 March 2024. The revision represents the most significant overhaul of MiFIR since its inception. ESMA published technical specifications for the revised reporting regime on 25 September 2025, with planned application from 1 April 2026.

MiFIR applies directly in all EU Member States and regulates the following areas:

• Trade transparency: Pre- and post-trade transparency for equity instruments (shares, ETFs, depositary receipts) and non-equity instruments (bonds, structured finance products, emission allowances, derivatives)
• Transaction reporting: Reporting obligations to competent authorities for all transactions in financial instruments admitted to trading or traded on a trading venue
• Trading obligations: Obligation for investment firms to trade shares on regulated markets, MTFs or systematic internalisers; clearing-eligible OTC derivatives must be traded on regulated venues
• Access to CCPs and trading venues: Non-discriminatory access for central counterparties and trading venues
• Third-country firms: Rules for the provision of investment services by third-country firms to professional clients in the EU
• Consolidated tape provider: Framework for authorisation and operation of consolidated tape providers from the 2024 review onwards

• Pre-trade transparency: Trading venues and systematic internalisers must continuously publish firm quotes and order depth, with calibrated thresholds and deferral mechanisms
• Post-trade transparency: Real-time publication of price, volume and time of all completed transactions; deferral regime for large transactions and illiquid instruments
• Transaction reporting: Reporting of all transactions to competent authorities by the end of the following business day with 65 standardised data fields
• Consolidated tape: ESMA-licensed CTPs aggregate trading data from all EU trading venues into a consolidated data stream for shares, ETFs and, in future, bonds
• Payment-for-order-flow ban: Prohibition on accepting payments for routing client orders from retail clients and opted-up professional clients
• Trading obligation for derivatives: Standardised OTC derivatives subject to the clearing obligation must be traded on regulated markets, MTFs or OTFs
• Open access: Non-discriminatory access of CCPs to trading venues and vice versa, to promote competition in clearing and trading

The 'predecessors' field lists 'mifid2' as a predecessor of MiFIR. This is factually incorrect: MiFID II (Directive 2014/65/EU) and MiFIR (Regulation (EU) No 600/2014) are contemporaneous sibling instruments — both adopted 15 May 2014, both published in OJ L 173 on 12 June 2014, and both applicable from 3 January 2018. The 'related' field already correctly lists mifid2 as 'related'.